Distribution of aquatic macroinvertebrates within peatland pool complexes in the Flow Country, Scotland

• Published in: Hydrobiologia Vol. 377; no. 1-3; pp. 95 - 105
• Main Authors: DOWNIE, I. S, COULSON, J. C, FOSTER, G. N, WHITFIELD, D. P
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer 01-01-1998; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animal populations; Animal reproduction; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Applied ecology; Aquatic life; Aquatic organisms; Biodiversity; Biogeography; Biological and medical sciences; Coleoptera; Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife; Drought; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Hemiptera; Invertebrates; Macroinvertebrates; Nature conservation; Parks, reserves, wildlife conservation. Endangered species: population survey and restocking; Species composition; Water levels; United Kingdom; Scotland; Great Britain; Europe; British Isles, Scotland, Flow Country; Coleoptera; Insecta; Environmental factor; Biomass; Spatial variation; Depth; Peat bog; Freshwater environment; Heteroptera; Water level; Homoptera; Seasonal variation; Arthropoda; Population dynamics; Habitat; Invertebrata; Animal conservation; Drought; Food supply; Wetland; Population density; Ecological abundance
• ISSN: 0018-8158; 1573-5117
• DOI: 10.1023/a:1003267022820

Stationary water traps were used to sample the aquatic invertebrates from both shallow, drought-sensitive pools and deeper, more permanent pools on blanket bog in the Flow Country, northern Scotland during 1994-1995, an area important for nature conservation. The differences in numbers of invertebrates trapped, and the differences in species composition and abundance of adult aquatic Coleoptera and Hemiptera (the two most abundant groups caught) between these two pool types, and spatially within the deeper pools, were investigated. Using the same trapping effort, seven times more invertebrates and five times more adult Coleoptera were taken in the deep (A4) pools compared to the shallow (A3) pools, and Hemiptera were almost exclusively trapped in the A4 pools (only 2% of the catch was from A3 pools). DECORANA showed that the Coleoptera species composition of the two pool types was different, although a small overlap existed, presumably because of the proximity of the pool types and of the continuous nature of the variation between them. There was little difference in the numbers taken or species composition of Coleoptera or Hemiptera from the edges or centre of the A4 pools. Smaller Coleoptera species were found in both pool types, although one species was more common in the centre of the larger pools. Larger Coleoptera with a body length of more than 11.6 mm were not found in the A3 pools, only in the deeper A4 type. The A4 pools were found to be more stable seasonally than the shallow pools with respect to invertebrate numbers trapped, and this may be linked to the chance of drying out of the latter in dry periods. The influence of pool stability (through water level) on invertebrate abundance, development and individual species size is discussed, as is the sampling method used, the significance of the peatland fauna and its importance to breeding bird life associated with peatland pool complexes.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]